The Saddest Day Of The Year…

With professional sports on hiatus for nearly 48 hours, the most ardent fans of the pastime consider suicide. For those who manage to disentangle from the interweb and brave direct sunlight, it is a rebirth.

Which is why this moment is so symbolic for Major League Baseball (and the Blue Jays, in particular). It’s not simply that baseball’s second season brings with it a cliched new hope. As Gibreel Farishta said while tumbling from the heavens, “to be born again … first you have to die.”

And so, for a chance at rebirth, we must first put to death the pre-all-star half of the Jays season. Easier said than done. Even after death, things linger in the memory.

John Thomson, Victor Zambrano, and Tomo Ohka are no longer with the team.

Our team batting average is .257, which ranks 11th of 14 teams in the AL. In terms of hits, we’re 13th.

The disabled list fiasco makes me wonder if JP Ricciardi is the Pharaoh, his “first born” Jays succumbing to the plagues of Egypt. Make no mistake about it, this is a curse. These feelings of angst do not simply go away.

Remember. This isn’t losing the 1985 AL Championship Series to the Royals after being up 3-1. This isn’t Dave Stieb, having two consecutive no-hitters broken in the 9th. And this isn’t being swept by the Tigers during the last week of the season to lose the 1987 division race.

If we can calmly put the first half of the season behind us, there is solace.